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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28812135">Cat Dads</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/old_and_new_friends/pseuds/old_and_new_friends'>old_and_new_friends</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: Legend of Korra</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cats, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Kittens, M/M, slight crack</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:54:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,062</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28812135</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/old_and_new_friends/pseuds/old_and_new_friends</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Iroh found a pregnant cat outside his and his boyfriend's apartment building. The two men decide to take the cat in and help her raise her baby.</p><p>A short slice of life story where Mako and Iroh own four cats.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Iroh II/Mako (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>39</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Cat Dads</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Based off a Prompt given during my Prompt Week event: for makroh prompt.... can you do the one where they decide to adopt a cat together? 🥺</p><p>I decided to expand it and re-visit Iroh and Mako being cat dads.</p><p>You don't need to hunt down the prompt, the first five hundred or so words is the prompt fill. I included it in the story.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mako nearly ran into his boyfriend as he walked out of their apartment building.</p><p>“Ah, aren’t you supposed to be headed to work?” Mako asked.</p><p>“Shh,” Iroh said, before turning to make clicking noises towards the alley beside their building. “Come on, I won’t hurt you.”</p><p>Mako raise a brow before looking around Iroh and spotting a cat curled up on a trash bag. Mako wasn’t sure he was supposed to be relating to a feral cat but here he was.</p><p>Mako opened his bag that he carried to work. The lunch Iroh had made for him was in it. There was some fresh fish in there that he pulled out and offered to the cat.<br/>The cat, previously uninterested in Iroh’s attempts at friendship, moved towards Mako’s offer of food.</p><p>“Hey,” Iroh said, “I found you first, why won’t you love me?”</p><p>“You didn’t offer her any food,” Mako said, as the cat suddenly decided his lap was the best place to sit.</p><p>“How do you know it’s a girl?” Iroh asked.</p><p>“Because she’s pregnant,” Mako deadpanned.</p><p>“Oh,” Iroh said, “I just thought she was fat.”</p><p>“No, she’s actually very skinny,” Mako said.</p><p>“What do we do?” Iroh asked.</p><p>“Not sure,” Mako replied.</p><p>“Well, I’m going to call out of work for a family emergency,” Iroh said, standing to make his way back to their apartment phone.</p><p>“Whoa, wait, we are not keeping her,” Mako said, struggling to stand with the cat in his lap.</p><p>Iroh stared at him and Mako caved.</p><p>“But we aren’t keeping her kittens!” Mako yelled following after Iroh, somehow knowing he’d be calling out from work too. Something told him they were about to become cat dads, several times over.</p><p>---</p><p>Mako hated being right.</p><p>Not only had they kept the pregnant cat, named Mittens by Mako, but they had kept her three kittens as well. Mako soon realized Iroh’s concession on him naming Mittens and letting Iroh name the kittens was a mistake.</p><p>The three six-month-old kittens were sadly named: Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty, His Momoness, and yes you had to say it entirely according to Iroh in respect for his namesake, Miyuki the Destroyer of Worlds, Mako still wasn’t sure how a cat had become wanted by the Fire Nation or why Iroh wanted to name their cat after it, and Lord Zuko, who only answered to Lord Zuzu because Iroh thought he was funny.</p><p>They were certainly names to grow into but the kittens seemed to take it as a challenge.</p><p>Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty, His Momoness, was in fact the most spoiled and entitled cat Mako had ever met. Momo, as Mako called the cat in the safety of his head, was absolutely enthralled with Iroh and could often be found on his heels hoping for a treat. Said treat was almost always given. Momo also only ate while someone pet him and had to sleep on Iroh’s feet at night, least he yowl outside their bedroom door for hours on end.</p><p>Miyuki on the other hand, was an absolute terror. Mako was beginning to understand how a cat could have a criminal record, as Miyuki certainly live up to her name. </p><p>Rather, she should have been named Miyuki the Destroyer of shoes and all things leather. Miyuki loved leather. She liked both the smell and the taste of it. It was a lucky day if all she did was sniff and love on his shoes, but often times Mako found small little teeth marks on the tip.</p><p>Miyuki was also an accomplished climber and would in fact attack both Mako and Iroh from above. Though that didn’t stop her from attacking from below either. Having a kitten’s claws dig into your bare leg as she tried to scale up your body in the early light of dawn wasn’t a pleasant feeling but it was a familiar one. Her ultimate goal seemed to be their shoulders where she often draped herself like an overly obnoxious scarf.</p><p>Lord Zuzu seemed the most well behaved of the kittens, though that wasn’t saying much. He was also the runt of the litter. He was a playful kitten, and could often be found instigating fights with the bigger cats. Lord Zuzu was a tiny little thing, that seemed to have the heart of a saber-tooth moose lion. He got in just as much trouble as his siblings, only his misbehavior usually seemed to be genuine accidents.</p><p>Though Mako had a sneaking suspicion that Lord Zuzu was the one that kept leaving half eaten bugs and small reptiles around the house.</p><p>Iroh said the cat acted exactly like his grandfather, whom the cat was named for. Mako had a hard time believing that but Iroh continually insisted.</p><p>Their mother, in contrast, was the sweetest of cats. Mittens had gained a lot of weight under Mako and Iroh’s care, maybe a bit too much. They had both worried when her whiskers had fallen out thinking she was sick but it turned out it was a sign of good nutrition. Her whiskers had been frail with her malnutrition and with a proper diet, she was now able to grow them back stronger.</p><p>Mittens was Mako’s favorite, as Mako was her favorite, something Iroh was still bitter about.</p><p>She could often be found curled up on Mako’s stomach as he lounged in bed or on the sofa. Iroh often pushed her down when the two of them wanted some cuddling time as Mittens would push her way into Mako’s lap, even if it meant pushing Iroh out of it.</p><p>Iroh refused to admit he was jealous of a cat, but Mako thought it was cute that the two battled for his affections.</p><p>Coming home from work had become an adventure as the four cats would rush the door. It was a lesson in speed as Iroh and Mako quickly became accustomed to rushing in and out of the door, least a cat slip through.</p><p>Still, Mako wouldn’t give up their cats for anything, save maybe his brother or Iroh. They were his family now. He and Iroh had already agreed a while back that children weren’t in the cards for them, but apparently four cats were.</p><p>---</p><p>“I know,” Mako said, pushing into the doorway with his foot extended out to block the cats. “It’s always so exciting when dad and I come home with food, but we can’t get in the house if you block the door.”</p><p>Iroh chuckled lightly as he followed Mako into their kitchen. Iroh kicked the door shut behind him before Lord Zuko could slip out.</p><p>“You know they won’t leave us alone to put up the food until you feed them,” Iroh said.</p><p>Mako dropped his bags to the counter. “I know,” Mako said. “It’s always about them. They have to be fed first, Lord Momo of the Momo Dynasty, His Momoness has to sleep on our bed, Miyuki has to be allowed in the bathroom with us or she’s calling the cops, Lord Zuko is entitled to sitting on the radio even when it makes it hard to hear and no one ignores Mittens in favor of a book. They have us well trained at this point.”</p><p>Iroh snapped his fingers towards Mittens as she jumped on the counter to assess the bags. Mittens ignored him but when Mako repeated the gesture she puffed up before complying.</p><p>Iroh rolled his eyes. “Why do you hate me?” he asked, as Mittens continued to ignore his existence.</p><p>Mako laughed slightly as he picked up the cat bowls from the floor. Iroh moved over to help him as the cats would get very mad if one was fed before the others and Mako only had the two hands.</p><p>Mako split the soft cat food evenly between the four bowls and placed two down as Iroh did the same. Momo sat patiently at Iroh’s feet until the other man sat himself on the floor to pet him.</p><p>Mako shook his head at the kitten’s dramatics and moved over to start making their dinner.</p><p>He had to admit that while the cats could sometimes be a bit much, they had in their own way drawn Mako and Iroh closer together. Times like this, while admittedly odd, were an improvement over Iroh coming home and hiding in his office to work. Now instead Iroh would sit on the kitchen floor as he and Mako talked about their day and Mako cooked.</p><p>Mako hadn’t realized how much that behavior had previously been bothering him until it disappeared.</p><p>With it came other things as well. Iroh and Mako were more likely to lounge in the living room versus in their bed where they would fall asleep entirely too early. It meant they now had hours more to spend together. It also meant that had a more normal sleep schedule.</p><p>Momo wandered off from his bowl and Iroh stood. He came over to wrap his arms around Mako.</p><p>“Almost done?” Iroh asked. “It smells good and I didn’t eat lunch.”</p><p>“Whose fault was that Mr. ‘I ate a late breakfast’?” Mako asked.</p><p>“Yours for not talking me out of it,” Iroh said.</p><p>Mako hummed, before turning off the stove. Iroh pulled two plates down from the cabinet and the two moved to their small dining room table to eat.</p><p>The three kittens started weaving in and out of the table and chair legs. Iroh snapped his fingers and Lord Zuko ran off. The other two weren’t quite trained from the behavior yet. Mittens must have belonged to someone previously, even if she didn’t when they found her, as she had already known not to jump on the table.</p><p>Momo eventually realized no food would be given and left but Miyuki remained stubborn and curled up at Mako’s feet.</p><p>“I’ll clean up,” Iroh said, as they finished. “Turn on the radio?”</p><p>Mako nodded moving towards the living room. Mako turned the radio on, then up slightly as Lord Zuko sat on top, muffling the voices. He grabbed his book from the coffee table before curling up on the couch.</p><p>Iroh joined him shortly with his own book. He tucked his feet under Mako until Mako was practically sitting on his toes. Mako placed his feet in Iroh’s lap as a response. Mitten’s joined them shortly after, squeezing into the space between Mako’s bent knees and stomach. She didn’t really fit but she also didn’t seem to really care.</p><p>Iroh slid his hand across the back of the sofa, and Mako linked his fingers with the other mans. It made flipping pages awkward with only one hand but they both made do.</p><p>Their nights together had always been quiet, but now there was a togetherness that just existing near one another created. Mako rubbed his thumb gently over Iroh’s knuckles.</p><p>“I need to get up early tomorrow,” Mako said, after an hour of reading.</p><p>“Are you going to bed then?” Iroh asked, looking up from his own book.</p><p>“Yes, are you coming or are you staying here?” Mako asked.</p><p>Iroh glanced at the clock before closing his book. “I could sleep,” Iroh said.</p><p>Mako relocated Mittens, ignoring the offended look he was given as he did so.</p><p>Miyuki seemed to know where they were going and followed them into the bathroom.</p><p>“I’m going to get a shower first,” Iroh said, kissing the side of Mako’s head before pulling his shirt off. Mako brushed his teeth as Iroh slipped into the shower.</p><p>“Really?” Iroh asked, and Mako smirked slightly in the mirror before spitting.</p><p>“Did Miyuki join you in the shower then?” Mako asked.</p><p>“Doesn’t she always?” Iroh asked, resigned to sharing his shower with a cat.</p><p>Mako laughed to himself before settling into bed. He was nearly fully asleep when Iroh joined him and barely felt the bed move as Iroh settled beside him.</p><p>He did feel the bed move as Momo made his presence known by trampling all over the both of them before settling on Iroh’s feet.</p><p>Iroh clicked off his bedside lamp and wrapped his arm over Mako’s side as the two resettled for bed.</p><p>Soft kitten snores were drifting from the foot of the bed as Mako finally slipped off to sleep.</p><p>He hadn’t predicted this life for himself but Mako was more then glad to live it.</p>
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